COLD WATER IS BEST FOR COFFEEMAKING

Q--Please tell me why the directions for making coffee always say to use cold water. Why not use hot water and shorten the time it takes the coffee to brew?

--Scott Anderson.

A--The reason for using cold water has to do with the pipes water flows through. The pipes and boiler through which hot water flows are full of metals, chemicals and impurities, which the hot water picks up as it flows through. Cold water flowing through similar pipes picks up impurities, too, but not nearly so many as hot water. In addition, some coffeemakers will brew only when cold water is added.

For best results, you may want to use a good-quality bottled water, which has, for coffeemaking purposes, almost no impurities.

Q--Do you have a recipe for a Bohemian-style chicken in sweet cream gravy with dumplings? I am eager to make it.

Retiree, Chicago.

A--Here`s one prepared in The Tribune test kitchen.

CHICKEN WITH CREAM GRAVY AND DUMPLINGS

Six to eight servings

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 roasting chicken, about 6 pounds, cut up

4 cups water

2 slices white bread, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup milk

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup whipping cream

Salt, mace, pepper to taste

3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in large dutch oven. Add chicken in single layer. Cook, turning often, until brown on all sides, about 20 minutes. Pour in 4 cups water. Heat to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, until chicken is fork-tender, about 30 minutes.

Note: Three to four tablespoons minced fresh dill may be added to the gravy if you wish.

Thought you`d want to know: If your freezer goes off because of power failure, you have about a three-day grace period with a chest freezer and 2 1/ 2 days with an upright as long as you don`t open the freezer door. You lose about 30 minutes of frozen time everytime you open the door of a chest freezer and 1 to 1 1/2 hour with an upright freezer.